4 churches in Tainan hold “distinctly Taiwanese” Sunday School together

Reported by Simon Lin

Written by Lydia Ma

Yenhang, Kongying, Renhe, and Wanli Presbyterian churches in Tainan City are trying something new this year when it comes to Sunday School. Integrating Bible stories with traditional Taiwanese children’s games, these churches’ aim is to refashion Sunday School. Their joint efforts culminated in a joint Sunday School session on June 28, 2012 where more than 100 children gathered at Renhe Church for Sunday School. The program on that day consisted of drama, storytelling, and traditional Taiwanese children's games. Many children who had never attended a church camp in the past were able to meet children from other churches on that day.

According to Hsieh Wen-shu, the coordinator of this event, most churches in Taiwan follow Sunday school curriculum produced by European or American churches. Hsieh believes that the PCT should develop a distinctly Taiwanese Sunday School curriculum to really help the children. For this reason, the program on that day, based on the theme “The Lord wants to use you”, was devoid of meaningless and purely entertaining outdoor games.

Renhe Presbyterian Church pastor, Rev. Sung Hsin-hsi has always had a special burden on his heart for children’s ministries. For this reason, he invited Hsieh and Sunday School directors from churches in the vicinity to gather for some sharing and training during March of 2012. Hsieh does not encourage teachers to focus on teaching tricks aimed at entertaining or impressing children. Instead, her 6-week long training emphasizes on commitment and Bible-reading.

This joint Sunday school session was the culmination of many hours spent discussing how to improve Sunday school and the warm response from children on that day was very encouraging for the staff. Some of these participating churches have fewer resources when it comes to Sunday school and this event was an eye-opener for many kids. Other church staff appreciated the workshop as it gave them insight on how they can conduct Sunday school programs in the future.